Squid Game: Is it lost in translation?
The hit streaming series, Squid Game, has been crowned Netflix’s most successful to date – but are English-speaking viewers missing Korean nuances in the show’s translation?
A Korean TV drama thriller likened to The Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Lord of the Flies, Squid Game sees Korean citizens struggling to escape from a cycle of poverty compete in a dystopian, bloody battle to the death to win approximately £28m by defeating fellow competitors.
Squid Game’s success has even reportedly spawned a rise in Korean language learners, with Duolingo enjoying a 40 per cent increase in new US learners studying Korean on the previous year and a 76 per cent rise of UK citizens registering.
But the English translations of the series’ Korean script has also come under scrutiny from native speakers of the language – with a debate over the accuracy of Netflix’s English subtitles for Squid Game now coming to a head.
While mistranslations in subtitles of international TV shows and films are not uncommon, many Koreanspeaking viewers have argued that potential mistranslations of Korean speech in the show mean that nuances in Squid Game’s script and characterisation are lost in translation.
Language professionals at language-learning site Busuu identified that swear words on the show such as f***, frequently uttered by characters in the tense drama, are often changed to softer alternatives – with complex Korean phrasing also simplified to fit limited subtitle lengths and timespans.
Christiane Bark, head of localisation at Busuu, said: “Like with all translations, meanings sometimes have to be adapted and some of the
details get lost in translation because languages can’t be translated directly meaning translators have to find the closest meaning in their language.
“In some cases, however, the translated subtitles are missing vital information or are gross mistranslations, often due to the lack of context given to the translator.
“Some subtitles have to simplify what is being said as there is limited space and time to display text for viewers to read.”
The particular nuances of Korean language, which see certain form of address such as hyung and oppa used to describe a range of relationships in relation to hierarchy, closeness and gender, are
swapped out for character names in Squid Game’s English subtitles.
As a result, the intimate bonds formed between players and shown in tender moments before survivors watch new friends die in brutal, sudden ways can pass viewers by.
But Dr Youngmi Kim, senior lecturer in Korean studies at the University of Edinburgh, says that while Netflix “could pay a lot more attention to translation” and the specific cultural nuances in Squid Game and Korean TV shows and films generally, Squid Game’s unique appeal and message is not diminished by slips in translation.